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Flaws (songfic)
In case you didn't know, this is a fanfic by StormDragon21. It's currently a work in progress, due to an accidental publish and an error. OA is Bastille. ''When all of your flaws and all of my flaws are laid out one by one It was morning. A warm, greenleaf morning. The grass was bright, the birds were singing, and only one thing spoiled the day for me and Tawnybird. We failed. The Dark Forest had taken over WindClan. There was only one clan left. SkyClan. If it was still surviving. ''A wonderful part of the mess that we made ''We pick ourselves undone "Russetscar?" Tawnybird was finally awake. Her claws scrabbled at the smooth stone in the Twolegplace that we hid out in as she pushed herself up. "Yes?" I asked. "Did StarClan want us to fail, and make a mess of the Clans?" Tawnybird's voice wavered, and I suspected her faith in StarClan was doing the same. ''All of your flaws and all of my flaws, they lie there hand in hand ''Ones we’ve inherited, ones that we learn ''They pass from man to man "No, Tawnybird," I comforted. "StarClan chose us to be a resistance, but we're just cats. We aren't invincible." Tawnybird seemed alright, thankfully. Her injuries were deep, her blood flows faster than other cats', and I'm not the medicine cat here. Her blood. Her main flaw. The smallest cut could become the deepest wound. My anger. My main flaw. The smallest insult could become the biggest battle. ''There’s a hole in my soul ''I can’t fill it, I can’t fill it It had been almost two moons. We walked for as far as the eye could see, though all we could see were Twolegs and their creations. I felt empty inside, just like the boxy Twoleg dens. What was happening? Was the Dark Forest eating away at my spirit, making me lose the will to continue this seemingly hopeless journey? ''There’s a hole in my soul ''Can you fill it? Can you fill it? "Tawnybird, I need your help," I confessed. I didn't know how much she would be able to help, because she was already shaken up from the battle. "Yes?" Her voice was calmer this time, and I sighed. This was the voice she used when she was training to be a warrior, not knowing her fatal flaw. This was the voice she used to answer the older medicine cat, eager to help her Clan in any way possible. This was the voice she used when her new mentor died, and she helped the Clan as a full medicine cat. "What if…SkyClan's destroyed?" I could barely bring myself to say it. "Have faith in StarClan. They will guide you. Run towards the rising sun, and bring its dawn back to the place of eternal night." Tawnybird's voice seemed to echo over the Twolegplace and into the forest beyond. ''You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve ''And I have always buried them deep beneath the ground Each sunrise, we followed Tawnybird's instructions. We ran towards the sun until we grew tired or sunhigh came, and then we searched for what little food we could get until night came and we slept. I couldn't even keep track of how long we ran, and I started to worry about what the SkyClan cats would think of us. Tawnybird could just not fight, but I couldn't control my anger. I would try to hide it, but it would always come. ''Dig them up - let’s finish what we started ''Dig them up - so nothing’s left unturned Maybe instead of hiding it, I could control it. Just an attempt to dig my claws into the ground, and hold back the rushing river of my emotions. Anything to keep my from leaping on the nearest cat and scratching their belly… ''All of your flaws and all of my flaws, when they have been exhumed What if I didn't have my flaws? I had a dream of my anger disappearing. Someone insulted me, but I didn't attack them. A warrior told me to improve my hunting, but I didn't yowl at them. It seemed like the perfect life, and I wondered why StarClan couldn't let me live like that. ''We’ll see that we need them to be who we are ''Without them we’d be doomed But then, the Dark Forest came. Nothing urged me to fight against them, and I watched as the loyal cats were slaughtered. Then it hit me. It wasn't my faith in StarClan that would save the Clans, but my anger at the Dark Forest. Without it, I would have doomed the Clans—and Tawnybird—to destruction. ''There’s a hole in my soul ''I can’t fill it, I can’t fill it After StarClan-knows-how-long, we arrived at the gorge. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. If the cats living here would accept us, then we could live here without the Dark Forest stalking our every step. There was only one problem. I felt empty inside, like this wasn't the end. Was it? Could we rally enough cats to make our territory home again? ''There’s a hole in my soul ''Can you fill it? Can you fill it? I left it to Tawnybird to do all of the talking. She had a way with words, so all I had to do was watch, listen, and hope that nobody yelled at us. ''You have always worn your flaws ''upon your sleeve ''And I have always buried them ''deep beneath the ground Tawnybird was able to convince their leader, Gingerstar, to let us stay at their camp. We did the normal routine, but again, I felt like this wasn't the end. I needed to go talk to Gingerstar, get her to understand the threat that we faced. ''Dig them up - let’s finish what we ''started ''Dig them up - so nothing’s left ''unturned I finally found the courage to walk up to her den. It was more like jump, but what else to expect from SkyClan? I told her about the problem, and the conversation was mostly normal, but then she said this: "I don't expect a mouse-brained plan like that to get us anywhere." My claws scraped against the stone. My hackles raised as I prepared to pounce and slash. But as my eyes prepared to aim, my gaze fell upon the scar that gave me my name. ''When all of your flaws and all of my flaws are counted ''When all of your flaws and all of my flaws are counted It was the reason I learned to hate my anger. I used to have the warrior name Flowerheart, a beautiful name for my beautiful calico pelt. Until one day, I was insulted by a RiverClan cat on a border patrol. My anger took over, and I attacked him. I nearly killed him, too. Before my Clanmates pulled me away, I had a gash on my stomach that never healed properly. I gained my new name, Russetscar. It was like all they cared about were my flaws, rather than my strengths. I didn't want to be that cat again. I want to turn over a new leaf, and change. This was my chance. I let my fur settle down. "I'm sorry, Gingerstar." I took a deep breath and prepared for what I was about to say. Through my cunning, phrasing, and luck, I was able to convince her to send some of her best warriors to fight by StarClan's side. ''You have always worn your flaws upon your sleeve ''And I have always buried them ''deep beneath the ground It was time. We followed StarClan's omens for moons and moons, until we came back to the lake. Gingerstar let the wind ruffle her fur as she stood upon the ledge. "Today, we will make a last stand. Today is the day where we will either win or lose, and I will stand by you either way." We figured the Dark Forest cats would still have a Gathering, so we walked over the tree-bridge. We were barely noticed until Gingerstar yowled, "Cats of the Dark Forest!" There was a lot of confusion as Gingerstar climbed up the tree. Her pelt was surprisingly bright against the pelts of the other four cats. One of them I recognized—Redtooth, now Redstar. I hissed at him, the traitor who killed Hollowstar. "Who are you?" one of the cats asked. "I am the leader of DawnClan, the cat who will let the sun rise again. We will rise up against the Dark Forest!" ''Dig them up - let’s finish what we started ''Dig them up - so nothing’s left unturned The Gathering was full of yowling and hissing cats. A mottled brown cat swiped at my ear, but another cat knocked him off-balance. I dodged an attacking tabby, but a claw was hooked in my tail. I turned around, and I hissed. It was Redstar. "You!" I hissed. "You deserve to die!" "But you're the one who most certainly will," Redstar snarled. "Look. I'm a leader, with four other deadly leaders to defeat your one puny 'Clan'." "Let's just cut to the chase and fight, okay?" I growled. Before letting him have a chance to respond, I scratched him across the face. All of the anger that was building up was now let go, and I fought with all of the ferocity of LionClan, the speed of LeopardClan, and the sneakiness of TigerClan. My final blow was a deadly scratch to the belly, which was returned. I was fading fast, and collapsed only a little bit after Redstar fell. ''All of your flaws and all of my flaws are laid out one by one ''Look at the wonderful mess that we made ''We pick ourselves undone "Russetscar?" I was woken out of my coma by Tawnybird. I tried to move, but I couldn't. I gave up and relaxed with a sigh. "What happened?" "Good news, we won. Bad news…bad news…" Tawnybird couldn't seem to get the words out of her. "Bad news is that…you're going to die. I can't do anything to help you." "It was a wonderful mess, wasn't it?" I purred. "If it wasn't for my anger, I wouldn't have started this battle, and your inability to be a warrior meant that you could read the signs to lead us to victory." "Yes," Tawnybird sighed. "But I don't know who'll be leader." "What about Redstar's deputy?" "Dead." Tawnybird groomed her tawny fur. "Drowned, actually." "Then, you should be leader. Berryfur is already a full medicine cat, right? And with nine lives, you can care for WindClan without worrying about dying in your first battle." "But…I can't!" Tawnybird cried. "There's nothing in the code that allows this!" "But there isn't anything that says you can't, is there?" I pointed out. "I don't know…" Tawnybird sighed. "Wait, look!" I followed her tail with my eyes. A tawny-colored bird—possibly a finch or sparrow—was flying over the camp. It landed on the Tallrock before flying away. "It's a sign," I whispered. My strength was fading fast, and I could barely speak. "You will be the next leader. Tawnystar…" I closed my eyes for the last time.